Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Year 2028: The New 2012

Now that we’re pretty sure the world won’t be ending in the next month and a half, we have a new Armageddon: 2028. The world isn’t exactly supposed to “end” in 2028, just life as we know it.Or as environmentalist Bill McKibben puts it, “Game Over for the planet.” In 2028 — unless immediate action is taken on a global level — the global temperature will have risen by two degrees Centigrade. It’s already been established that a temperature increase of two degrees Centigrade will have catastrophic consequences. You already know all this: massive floods, droughts, storms, famine — I don’t need to walk you through it. Google it if necessary.Needless to say, conservative politicians hate these climate change warnings. The most obvious reason, of course: their pimps in the fossil fuel industry get mad when people talk about climate change or global warming. And when these pimps get mad, their congressional prostitutes start pissing and shitting all over themselves.Even worse: These climate change warnings are based on that there newfangled math and science.Here’s how it works: The global temperature will rise by two degrees Centigrade when 565 gigatons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere. The world’s fossil fuel reserves currently contain 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide.And as the linked article says, “their business model depends on that fuel being sold and burned.”At the current rate of fossil fuel consumption, it will take sixteen years for the Earth's atmosphere to reach the 565 gigaton milestone.Bill McKibben’s nationwide tour is called “Do the Math.”It’s gotta be done. The math isn’t pretty. But remember, if we don’t act now, it’s Game Over.Aw, heck with all that leftwing Chicken Little nonsense.Drill Baby Drill. Drill Here Drill Now.

They just hate the global warming warnings because they believe that to implement all the things we would need to do to slow things, it would cost too many people too much money. Too many rich people, for sure... and they also have the argument that all our taxes would have to go up to pay for it, etc. etc.

As for the info Jerry Critter provides, yes, we are indeed going to be the #1 producer of oil in the world, and soon. Seems to me that would shut up the "drill baby, drill" maroons at least a little? Because, well... we have obviously been doing plenty enough drilling.

Maybe there is a silver lining in there somewhere, that being that profits made from all that production can be funneled into research and development of alternative energy, but I don't really see any extra profits getting funneled anywhere but into the pockets of CEOs.

Sadly, the whole thing isn't about making like better (or eventually possible) for everyone on the planet... the whole thing is about money.

With every passing decade it becomes more painfully clear that conservative Republicans and their backers are not only chronic, recurring pains in the public's collective ass, they're an existential threat to peace, safety and even survival. Tea party types are even worse.

Make no mistake about the difficulty of imposing measures based on reality in spite of Republicans and tea party crazies. The stakes are not only ever bigger profits for carbon-based fuels industries, but also a whole lot of jobs, and their pols will use that fact to stall action right through one climate-based catastrophe after another, for as long as people let them get away with doing that.

I am wondering why don't the crazy rapepubicans care about the world ending for THEMSELVES. I know the tea baggers are mostly religious looneys who think Jesus is coming to pick them up before the world goes kaput, but what about the rapepublicans who aren't necessarily religiously crazy, just greedy? Don't they care that our civilization and life as we know it will be gone forever?

Tom, those new industries might create as many or even more jobs. Problem is, you've got some guy who's bought a house in Oklahoma with an oil industry job that pays well. He has all his family and friends there, and doesn't want to move to California or wherever to try to get one of those new jobbs. He also doesn't want to have to learn new skills and fit into a new company, if he can avoid it. Considerations like those will tip many political decisions by workers and voters toward the GOP for a long time, I'm afraid.

SW: That's a good point. I can understand people's resistance to the idea of having to learn new job skills because their old skills won't be needed any more. And rightwing demagogues are only too eager to exploit this fear and anxiety to the hilt.

Yeah, yeah - right year, wrong reason. Son-of-God was actually born in 6bc, ending the period of grace in 1994. Add to that the 33 years od extra grace leading to his REBIRTH, is what gives us 2028 as the end of the age.